I am honored to rise today to speak of our dear friend and colleague, Paul Coverdell.

We were all shocked and saddened last July when Paul died so unexpectedly. Georgia had lost one of its greatest public servants - a soft-spoken workhorse who served the people first and politics second. In a public career spanning three decades -- from the Georgia Senate to the Peace Corps to the United States Senate -- Paul served with dignity and earned everybody's respect along the way.

Immediately upon his death, folks in Washington and in Georgia began to think how we could remember this great Georgian in a worthy and enduring way.

Senator Lott, our Majority Leader and one of Paul's greatest admirers, appointed a four-member committee of senators to sort through the many ideas for memorializing Senator Coverdell. There were two Republicans - Phil Gramm of Texas and Mike DeWine of Ohio - and two Democrats - Minority Whip Harry Reid of Nevada and myself.

We quickly agreed that there should be two memorials for Senator Coverdell - one in Washington and one in Georgia.

In December, in a letter to party leaders Senator Lott and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, we outlined the two memorials we thought were most fitting for Senator Coverdell.

In Georgia, we have chosen to honor Paul's commitment to education, research and agriculture at the state's flagship university with The Paul D. Coverdell Building for Biomedical and Health Sciences. This state-of-the-art science center will let scientists from different fields collaborate on improving the food supply, cleaning up the environment and finding cures for disease.

This will be a joint project with the federal government, the state of Georgia and the University. We will be asking Congress to allocate $10 million for the building. Georgia Governor Roy Barnes will ask the Legislature for a $10 million appropriation. And the University will raise the remaining $20 million for the building.

I was so glad that Senator Coverdell's widow, Nancy, joined us in announcing this memorial last month.

It is my hope that the scientists who gather in this center under Senator Coverdell's name will make great discoveries to improve the quality of life in Georgia and around the world.

In Washington, we have chosen to honor Senator Coverdell's legacy at the Peace Corps, where he served as director from 1989 to 1991. Paul's appointment to the Peace Corps was met with great skepticism at first. But he quickly gained respect by demanding professionalism and by shifting the agency's focus so that more money was spent actually getting volunteers where they were needed.

When the Berlin Wall came down, Paul seized the opportunity to move the Peace Corps into Eastern Europe to promote freedom and democracy. This move not only broadened the agency's mission, but also increased its prestige around the world.

Senator Coverdell also established the widely acclaimed World Wise Schools Program. Under this program, Peace Corps volunteers who have returned to the United States visit schools to give students their impressions and lessons from their overseas service.

To honor Paul's legacy at the Peace Corps, we are recommending that the Peace Corps headquarters offices in Washington be named the "Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters."

We also are recommending the designation of the Peace Corps' World Wise Schools Programs as the "Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Programs."

Paul's dignity and decency inspired countless young people to serve their fellow man in far-away places. It is our hope that we can honor his legacy at the Peace Corps in this lasting way.

Mr. President, I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this memorial for our friend Senator Paul Coverdell, and I yield the floor.

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